By Scott Lauer
Scott Lauer is the radio play-by-play voice of the Charlotte Hornets. His column will appear on hornets.com on Thursdays throughout the season. The opinions expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Hornets organization.
The Hornets are halfway through their road trip out west and have dipped to 3-5 after a pair of losses this week to the Lakers and Blazers, who were both able to overcome second-half deficits. On Tuesday night in Portland, the Hornets played what Head Coach Steve Clifford deemed quite possibly, “the best game that we’ve ever played,” over the first three quarters. Unfortunately, the Hornets committed six fourth quarter turnovers and yielded too many offensive rebounds to the Portland, as a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead evaporated. They owned a 23-point lead in the second quarter, featuring what they’re capable of.
During Thurday’s practice in Phoenix, Coach Clifford emphasized that for a small team, the Hornets led the league in defensive rebounding percentage heading into the Blazers game, but suggested that they HAVE to box out and gain position (which wasn’t consistently accomplished in Portland).
Coach Clifford expressed that the team is doing a good job with their pick-and-roll and their inside game. In fact, Al Jefferson had the ball sent to him virtually every possession in the fourth in Portland. Jefferson’s gone six straight games producing at least 20 points. The team also spent about half an hour reviewing game film of the Blazers game, focusing on their defense.
While the Hornets have earned exciting home wins thus far, they still seek their first road win. They play the Suns on tonight and Warriors on Saturday night. Phoenix is coming off a Wednesday win here over Brooklyn after trailing by 19 in the second quarter. Gerald Green and Isaiah Thomas combined for nearly 50 points off the bench against the Nets. The Suns are (5-3) and feature an interesting roster composed of three proven point guards in Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Thomas. They also drafted Tyler Ennis in the first round and have Archie Goodwin at the position. There’s no question that keeping the point guards out of the paint is going to be paramount. Coach Clifford pointed out that 70 percent of Dragic’s shots were at the rim.
The next two opponents like to downsize their lineups often, so look for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to play some power forward. In theory, they could have a lineup of Walker, Neal, Stephenson, MKG, and Jefferson (or Zeller at times).
Lance Stephenson plays the three during those downsize moments, and regardless of who he’s defending, Stephenson has rebounding at an alarmingly high rate, averaging 11 boards per game! He’s had double-digits rebounds in four straight and currently leads the team in that category, along with assists. It’s not often that you find a player who leads his team in both categories, but Stephenson has a great chance to do so. It was encouraging to see Stephenson shoot and hit shots early in the Blazers game, as he started four of five. Similarly, Brian Roberts had a very aggressive first half with eight points. The team’s offense is getting into a good flow, and they’re playing much better in the last week.
Marvin Williams didn’t participate in yesterday’s practice due to a knee issue, so if he can’t play tomorrow, Cody Zeller will start.
*Brent Price, the brother of Hornets assistant Coach Mark Price, was at practice Thursday, visiting from Enid, OK. Brent was a former second round pick of Washington.